◄ What Does 2 Corinthians 10:4 Mean? ►

Our adversary, the devil, roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and there was much evidence of the enemy's meddlesome wiles in the lives of many of the Corinthian Christians - for he seemed to have infiltrated every area of their everyday lives and spiritual walks.

They had abused the gifts of the Spirit for personal promotion. They engaged in divisive arguments and petty quarrels. They backslid into spiritual infancy and engaged in the carnal ways of the world. They condoned ungodly practices in their midst... and even overlooked the gross, sexual sin of one of their members. Members in this church fellowship had forgotten that their bodies were a temple of the living God.

Paul had to chastise these Christians for their inappropriate behaviour and lack of spiritual growth, and his admonishment of their carnality can be traced throughout his first epistle to the Corinthians. But in this second letter, we discover that these believers had repented of their worldly ways which enabled Paul to give some important spiritual teaching that would help their spiritual understanding and influence their spiritual growth, "the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh," Paul explained. Our weapons not material weapons but are spiritual weapons. "The weapons of Christian warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses."

Paul explained that in this Church age, we do not use conventional weapons of war - we do not use carnal weapons because we are in a spiritual battle and require spiritual weapons. We have weapons that are far greater than the steel sword or the mighty cannon. We do not use armoured tanks or missile warheads. We have the truth of God's Word which can bring down any philosophical argument or worldly wisdom.

We should not be tempted to use the same, human tactics to fight against satanic deceit or the world's manipulative practices. We are to use the spiritual weapons that God has proved for all his children. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the glorious gospel of peace to counter the attacks of the enemy. We have the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit to ward off all evil advances - and we have the wonderful weapon of prayer - praying ALWAYS with all prayer and supplication - in the spirit, to rout the enemy's attacks.

We are to clothe ourselves in Christ, for through Him we have the ability to cast down men's high-minded murmuring against God... to lay waste the imagination of man, and put to naught everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of the truth. In Christ, we have the sufficient grace and spiritual strength to bring down high-minded babblings that have been raised up against the knowledge of the truth - as we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

But what are these weapons of the enemy that we are equipped to demolish? What are the strongholds that our spiritual weapons can destroy through Christ Jesus our Lord? Well, they are worldly words and foolish, intellectual augments of sinful man. They are personal influence, tortuous philosophies, stylistic verbiage, deceptive schemes, and the long-winded opinions of men with their impressive credentials and dismissive policies - that seek to annihilate the truth of the gospel of God. BUT the weapons of our warfare are not carnal and fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of such arguments and strongholds.

The weapons of our divinely inspired, spiritual warfare... is the proclamation of the Word of God, together with a submissive heart and a bended knee. Our power does not come from our own clever conversation or witty words, but is evidenced in the man or woman who lives in full dependence upon God... and relies on Him for His sufficient strength and godly wisdom - to guide them through life towards their spiritual home.

May we be ready to counter all the foolish thoughts and false perceptions of fallen man who seeks to contradict the truth of the knowledge of the gospel of God. May we be ready to give an answer to every high-sounding argument that exalts itself against our heavenly King, for the hope we have in Christ - for He can break down every satanic stronghold and reclaim the spiritual high-ground with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ the righteous.

Heavenly Father, there are many that seek to demolish the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ through scornful sarcasm and ill-imagined philosophies. Thank You that in Christ, we have the Word of God and the power of prayer to demolish any long-winded, ungodly opinions of men with their impressive credentials and dismissive policies. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart reflect the truth of Your Word. May I depend on You to bring down all the strongholds and arguments that are fired against me that seek to discredit the truth of the glorious gospel of God. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.